is a
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...
manga
Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is use ...
series and an
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
series by
Osamu Tezuka
Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu''; – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him suc ...
, based on
actual experiments conducted by the
Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...
to
create secret weapons toward the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. The anime, which was
Tokyo Movie Shinsha's first work, is considered
lost, with only episodes 1, 11, and 40-59 known to survive.
Plot
Invited to
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Dr. Asagumo is asked by
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...
to collaborate in researching the new weapon "Big X". Concerned about the possible effects of this weapon, Dr. Asagumo intentionally delays the progress of the research, conspiring with his co-researcher, the devious Dr. Engel. Immediately before Germany is defeated by the
Allies, Dr. Asagumo is shot to death by the German army but not before implanting a card inscribed with the secret of Big X into his son, Shigeru. An organization claiming alliance with the Nazis appears, steals the card from Shigeru, who now lives in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
, and completes the Big X project, which is revealed to be a drug that can expand the human body without limitation. Dr. Engel's grandson has joined the Nazi Alliance. Recovering Big X from the enemy, Shigeru's son Akira fearlessly challenges the Nazi Alliance and Hans Engel, who are plotting to conquer the world.
Voice Cast
* Akira Shimada as Big X
*
Fuyumi Shiraishi as Nina
*
Ichirô Nagai as Dr. Hanamaru
*
Keiko Yamamoto as Hans Engel
*
Yoshiko Ota as Akira Asagumo
Other appearances
* Big X makes a cameo appearance in the ''
Astro Boy: Omega Factor'' game for the
Nintendo Game Boy Advance
The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...
released in 2004, along with many other characters also created by Osamu Tezuka.
* In the ''
Oh My Goddess!'' manga, Urd watches a thinly veiled parody of the show.
* In the movie ''
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero'' the characters Gamma 1 and Gamma 2 wear a suit very similar to Big X.
See also
*
List of Osamu Tezuka anime
*
List of Osamu Tezuka manga
*
Osamu Tezuka's Star System
is the name given to the recurring characters in manga created by manga artist Osamu Tezuka. Throughout his career, Tezuka frequently re-used the same characters in different roles across series; for example, the character Shunsaku Ban appears a ...
References
External links
Big X anime at TezukaOsamu@World(archived)
Big Xin Animemorial
*
*
{{TMS Entertainment
1963 manga
1964 anime television series debuts
Lost television shows
Osamu Tezuka anime
Osamu Tezuka characters
Shueisha franchises
Osamu Tezuka manga
Science fiction anime and manga
TMS Entertainment
TBS Television (Japan) original programming